South Dakota’s Daktronics — The Shining Face of American Sports

S.D. stock makes some of the biggest scoreboards in the world

You might not have heard of Brookings, S.D.-based Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) — but chances are you’ve seen dozens of its products.

That’s because Daktronics — which got its start as a provider of vote-tallying systems for state legislatures and general assembly meetings — now is known for its dazzling, often self-record-breaking video screens, digital billboards and LED displays at America’s sporting arenas.

Founded in 1968 by two South Dakota University professors, Daktronics went public in 1994. It now employs some 2,500 workers and brings in about $500 million in annual revenues.

The company makes all manners of video displays and signage. Some of its products include Vanguard “variable message signs” to display traffic and weather information to motorists, sports scoreboards and timing systems, and commercial installations such as billboards and event center displays.

Of course, its most impressive and most well-known projects involve big league sports projects. A few recent deals by Daktronics:

Detroit Tigers venue Comerica Park upgraded its left-field display with a new state-of-the-art LED video display measuring 48 feet high by 127 feet wide, as well as an additional 5-by-100 LED display primarily for pitching stats.

Daktronics supplied the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons with the company’s largest display in the minor leagues, at 33 feet high by 80 feet wide — just in time for the team’s Coca-Cola Field to host the 25th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game.

Just this past season, Daktronics supplied 26 colleges and universities with new systems for their indoor facilities, including Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Southern Cal, Hawaii, Tulsa, Washington State and North Carolina.

And while the monstrosity inside of Dallas’ Cowboy Stadium is a Mitsubishi Diamond Vision scoreboard, Daktronics did supply the Cowboys with eight large portable modular LED displays for the stadium’s outdoor plaza.

So while the name Daktronics might not be on the tip of your tongue, the company holds a hallowed place in the eyes and ears of millions across the American sports landscape.

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